Manitou Mach 5 Pro C being uncooperative

[doctorstewie]

Afternoon all I have got my Marin Rift zone ( 97 Model ) home and very nice it is too ( more in another thread ) However the fork, a Manitou Mach 5 Pro C ( cartridge in the left leg ) is seized solid. I have removed the adjusters from the top of each leg and removed the compression rod screw, but they do NOT want to come apart. I can't fid the exact manual on the net, I have manuals for the 98 range though. ( the closest seems to tbe the SX model ) Anyone got anysuggestions on how to get them apart? It's driving me nuts...( lovely light fork BTW, I weighed it at 3lb 3.25 oz/ )
Thanks for any help all

 

[FMJ]

Re: Manitoue Mach 5 Pro C being uncooperative

http://suspensionforkparts.net/manitou_manual.php

 

[doctorstewie]

Thaks, O had already looked there and I cannot find the manual I need: thre is everything there except a 97 Mach 5 Pro C, unless it was called something else in the UK to everywhere else? Appreciate the help though

 

[559er]

Incase you haven't alreadt done you need to remove the bolts from the base of the fork

 

[doctorstewie]

Yes I've done that. They really don't want to be apart

 

[doctorstewie]

The Wiper seals are filthy, so I've cleaned them and given them a squirt of WD 40. There is next to no wear on the stanchions, they look lovely and clean with justloads of ooomska on teh seals. Odd.

 

[FMJ]

WD 40 expands rubber + most pliable polymers. Not what you want to use to clean seals.

 

[doctorstewie]

Oh Balls, thanks I should have realized. Any ideas what the Pro C might have been called in the US?

 

[doctorstewie]

Right, well. I've got them apart: I turned the fork upside down, rested the brace/bridge on a rag on the edge of my workbench so that the crown overhung the bench, got a piece of thick dowel to act as a drift onto the underside of the crown and VERY carefully tapped it with a hammer, measuring the seal to crown distance every few taps. A few hits later and they are apart. Bloody filthy inside but the damping cartridge seems fine, as do the elastomers and spring stack.
There was a lot of water in there. I am drying everything out, and will give it all a good clean before reassembly. I might be able to ride it tomorrow...

 

[JonTom]

Re:

Hey Doc,

Good to read you managed to un-seize the fork. Here's another way to do it:

I had the same problem with a Mach 5 Pro XC earlier this year. I put it in the kitchen sink and poured boiling water over the lower stanchions. After the 5th kettle-full, they released themselves no problem (the aluminium lower stanchions expand quicker than the steel upper stanchions). Easy-peasy!

Let's see the bike when you're done.